For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

MATTHEW 6:14KJV
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Matthew 6:14 (KJV)

What does Matthew 6:14 mean?

Matthew 6:14 says that if you forgive other people when they do wrong to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. The verse connects how you treat others with how God responds to you, especially in the matter of forgiveness.

Jesus is speaking these words to a crowd during the Sermon on the Mount, teaching them about prayer and how to live in a way that pleases God. This verse comes right after the Lord’s Prayer and highlights the importance of forgiving others as a key part of a relationship with God.

The Greek behind Matthew 6:14

  • ἀφῆτε (aphēte, "forgive"): This word means to let go, release, or pardon. In this context, it is about letting go of wrongs others have done to you, not holding them against people.
  • παραπτώματα (paraptōmata, "trespasses"): This word refers to missteps, faults, or wrongdoings. It covers a range of offenses, not just serious sins, but any way someone might hurt or wrong another.
  • οὐράνιος (ouranios, "heavenly"): This word emphasizes that the Father being spoken of is not earthly but is God in heaven, highlighting His authority and perspective.
  • καί (kai, "also"): This word links your action (forgiving others) directly to God’s action (forgiving you), showing a clear connection between the two.

Why Matthew 6:14 matters

  • Matthew 6:14 clears up the idea that forgiveness is only a private matter between a person and God; Jesus ties it directly to how we treat others.
  • The verse emphasizes that forgiveness is not optional in the life of someone who wants God’s forgiveness, making it a central part of Jesus’ teaching on prayer and daily living.
  • By placing this right after the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus shows that forgiveness is not just a one-time act but a regular, ongoing part of a believer’s relationship with God and others.

Where else these words appear

“heavenly” Greek G3770 · used in 6 verses

  • Matthew 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
  • Matthew 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
  • Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

“trespasses” Greek G3900 · used in 20 verses

  • Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
  • Romans 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

“forgive” Greek G863 · used in 133 verses

  • Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
  • Mark 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
  • Luke 11:42 But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.